| Industry | Film and Television |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | Andrew Young Susan Todd |
| Headquarters | Croton-on-Hudson, New York |
| Products | Motion pictures, television documentaries |
| Website | archipelagofilms.com |
Archipelago Films is a New York-based production company founded by Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated filmmakers Susan Todd and Andrew Young. Together, they have produced, directed, edited and filmed over a dozen documentaries for theatrical and television release, in addition to commercial and corporate projects. They have recently expanded their scope to include the Giant Screen format. [1]
Social Documentaries
editA few notable early films include The Spirit of Kuna Yala (1990), Children of Fate (1992), and Cutting Loose (1996).
The Spirit of Kuna Yala documents the Kuna Indians of Panama’s San Blas Islands at a time when their rainforest homeland is under threat. Young learned the Kuna language in order to gain the trust of the community elders. “Told entirely in the words of the Kunas, the film is a plea to care for the earth from a people who have a deep and intimate relationship with the land.” [2]
For Children of Fate, Archipelago Films revisited a family that was filmed by Young's father, director Robert M. Young, in 1961. The film incorporated old and new footage in “a portrait of an extended family caught up in a vicious cycle of poverty, ignorance and crime.” [3] The film received the Grand Jury Prize and the Cinematography Award at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary.
In Cutting Loose, Todd and Young documented weeks of preparation leading up to Mardis Gras festivities in New Orleans. Variety called the film “impressive on a technical level, and engrossing as an anthropological study.” [4] The film earned a Filmmaker’s Trophy and Cinematography Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
The Archipelago Films' team has also directed several films for Edward James Olmos' company Olmos Productions. One of these films, It Ain't Love, which was commissioned by the United States Justice Department, is a story of teenage dating violence, following members of a young improv company as they re-enact their abusive relationships. The film has been shown in health education classes in all 50 states.[5] Subsequently, they directed the HBO documentary: ‘’Americanos: Latino Life in the United States’’ which featured notable Hispanic icons, including Carlos Santana and Tito Puente.[6] Their portrait of the lives of teenaged gang members in Eastern Los Angeles, ‘’Lives in Hazard’’, was introduced by president Bill Clinton primetime on NBC.[7] Academy Award winning producer Cathy Schulman said in a review for the Sundance Film Festival “Susan Todd and Andy Young return to Sundance this year with ‘’Lives in Hazard’’, a film which further establishes them as two of the world’s most provocative and committed documentary filmmakers.”[8]
Nature Documentaries
editArchipelago Films also specializes in wildlife and natural history filmmaking. In 1998 they produced, wrote, and photographed Madagascar: A World Apart for ABC/Kane Productions’ The Living Edens series on PBS. The film’s subject was “the evolutionary path taken by Madagascar after its split from Africa 100 million years ago that has produced chameleons, mongooses and lemurs.” [9] It received 4 Emmy nominations, winning 2, and received the award for best cinematography at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. The team went on to produce, write and photograph another film for The Living Edens series: Glacier Bay: Alaska’s Wild Coast (2001). Documenting the lives of brown bears, bald eagles, humpback whales, seals and salmon, [10] the film earned 2 Emmy nominations and a Platinum Award for Best Nature Program. The Archipelago Films team has also had an ongoing collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo on many of the media components for their exhibits.[9]
The team’s current project is the 3D Giant Screen film, Backyard Wilderness, which Young and Todd are producing through their 501(c)(3) organization, Arise Media. This is their first project for the Giant Screen, to be distributed by SK Films. “Exploring the cycles of nature in a suburban backyard, the film follows the daily dramas of its inhabitants including the wood duck, spotted salamander, raccoon, coyote, and white-tailed deer, juxtaposed with the activities of nearby humans who are wrapped up in their time and space existence, oblivious to these natural wonders.”[1]
Awards
edit| Film | Year | Award | Name | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disturbing the Peace | 2016 | Ebertfest | Humanitarian Award | Won |
| Hamptons Film Festival | Conflict and Resolution | Won | ||
| Traverse City Film Festival | Best Documentary | Won | ||
| Audience Award | Won | |||
| Unburden | 2012 | Action/Cut Short Film Competition | Best Dramatic Film | Won |
| Gasparilla International Film Festival | Won | |||
| Lifetree Film Festival | Won | |||
| Deadly Messengers | 2005 | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Science Programming | Won |
| Glacier Bay: Alaska's Wild Coast | 2001 | Emmy Awards | Best Science / Nature Film | Nominated |
| Best Cinematography | Nominated | |||
| Aurora Awards | Best Nature Program | Won | ||
| Americanos: Latino Life in the United States | 1999 | Sundance Film Festival | Best Cinematography | Won |
| Alma Awards | Best Documentary | Won | ||
| Saving Africa's Forests | 1999 | International Wildlife Film Festival | Best Non-Broadcast Film | Won |
| Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival | Finalist | |||
| The Living Edens: Madagascar | 1998 | Emmy Awards | Best Cinematography | Won |
| Best Directing | Nominated | |||
| Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival | Best Cinematography | Won | ||
| It Ain't Love | 1997 | Windy City Documentary Festival | Best of Festival | Won |
| Cinema Arts Center | George Stoney Award | Won | ||
| National Educational Film & Video Festival | Golden Apple | Won | ||
| Cutting Loose | 1996 | Sundance Film Festival | Filmmaker's Trophy | Won |
| Cinematography Award | Won | |||
| San Francisco Film Festival | Golden Spire | Won | ||
| Lives in Hazard | 1993 | Director's Guild of America Awards | Documentary | Nominated |
| National Educational Film Festival | Golden Apple | Won | ||
| Best of Classroom | Won | |||
| Children of Fate | 1992 | Academy Awards | Best Documentary | Nominated |
| Sundance Film Festival | Grand Jury Prize | Won | ||
| Cinematography Award | Won | |||
| Cinéma du Réel | Grand Prix | Won | ||
| Saint Petersburg International Film Festival | Silver Centaur | Won | ||
| National Educational Film & Video Festival | Golden Apple | Won | ||
| The Spirit of Kuna Yala | 1990 | National Educational Film & Video Festival | Golden Apple | Won |
| American Film and Video Festival | Red Ribbon | Won | ||
| Earthwatch Institute | Earthwatch Film Award | Won |
External links
edit- Archipelago Films, Website
- Archipelago Films at the Internet Movie Database
- Archipelago Films, YouTube channel
- Archipelago Films, Facebook page
References
edit- ^ a b "About us", archipelagofilms.com, New York. Retrieved on 5 February 2014.
- ^ “The Spirit of Kuna Yala”, academicvideostore.com. Retrieved on 14 March 2017.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin. "MOVIE REVIEW: 'Fate': Portrait of a Family Caught in Cycle of Poverty", LA Times, Los Angeles, 23 November 1993. Retrieved on 5 February 2014.
- ^ Leydon, Joe. "Review: 'Cutting Loose' ", Variety, Los Angeles, 25 January 1996. Retrieved on 5 February 2014.
- ^ Hamilton, Denise. ‘’He Stands and Delivers New Message to Teens’’, LA Times, Los Angeles, 11 October 1999. Retrieved on 14 March 2017.
- ^ Leyden, Joe. “Review: ‘Americanos: Latino Life in the United States’ “, Variety, Los Angeles, 12 March 2000. Retrieved on 14 March 2017.
- ^ Brennan, Patricia "Olmos Examines Rising Gang Peril in 'Hazard'", "Sun Sentinel", 31 March 1994
- ^ Schulman, Cathy "Lives in Hazard", "Sundance Institute", Sundance Film Festival 1994, Retrieved on 20 April 2015
- ^ a b "Madagascar - A World Apart: Notes from the Field", PBS. Retrieved on 5 February 2014.
- ^ “Glacier Bay: Alaska's Wild Coast”, PBS. Retrieved on 11 March 2017.